1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for packaging firewood along with a combustible material, e.g., kindling, wherein a thermally shrinkable plastic material is placed over a plurality of layers of firewood. Each layer is positioned in substantially normal axial displacement to one another, thus providing lateral stability during packaging thereof.
Homeowners are increasingly becoming more aware of ways to conserve energy. This is in an attempt to make their homes a more profitable investment. Thus, the fireplace has been revived, as both an energy conserving tool as well as a means for providing more aesthetic value to the home.
Splitting firewood is both time consuming and a cumbersome act, especially during seasons of inclement weather. Although split firewood is available, and may be stored in one's home or backyard, transporting and handling of individual pieces of split firewood generally results in undesirable results, e.g., splinters in the hands of the user, and unwanted pieces of wood. Packaged firewood, generally available in single layers, is frequently unstable during storage of large quantities, and is normally accessible only in loose fitting containers.
Therefore, the present invention, a method for packaging firewood and an apparatus used therewith, which is safe in use and inexpensive in manufacture, is disclosed. More particularly, the invention contemplates a method for stacking and packaging split firewood within a heat shrinkable package in such a manner so as to limit lateral instability during packaging and storage of same. Also provided within the package is a combustible material, i.e., kindling, which is used as a fire starting agent.
The method of construction of the invention is more fully described herein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various prior art methods and apparatus for packaging goods, as well as the method of their construction in general, are known and are found to be exemplary of the U.S. prior art. They are:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor ______________________________________ 4,631,898 D. Brambilla 4,597,189 A. Cutrara 4,575,989 R. Hannen 4,562,689 R. Hannen 3,986,611 D. Dreher 3,662,5l2 S. Zelnick 3,600,871 M. Farquhar 3,529,717 D. McDougal ______________________________________
U.S. Pat. No. 4,597,189 issued to A. Cutrara contemplates a process for curing the "green" wood within a heat shrinkable thermoplastic netting, thus providing individual bags of palletized kiln dried firewood.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,575,989 issued to R. W. Hannen discloses a Method and Device for Packaging Palletized Stacks of Goods which includes a conveyer device for transporting the respective pallets to a shrink station for individual wrapping.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,529,717 issued to D. A. McDougal discloses a palletized means of tightly heat shrinking a load of firewood to prevent lateral movement of its enclosed materials.
The remaining patents disclose various methods of heat shrinking an envelope about a palletized array of goods.
These patents, or known prior art uses, teach and disclose various methods and apparatus for packaging goods of various manufactures, and the like, as well as methods of their construction; but none of them, whether taken singly or in combination, disclose the specific details of the combination of the invention in such a way as to bear upon the claims of the present invention.
More specifically, none of the prior art patents disclose a method and apparatus for stacking split firewood, wherein the method includes vertically positioning a multiplicity of layers of firewood in normal axial displacement to one another and enveloping same within a thermally shrinkable heat wrap material, thus limiting lateral displacement of said firewood and kindling material during packaging and transport thereof.